Tag Archives: review

iReview – HITMAN ABSOLUTION

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I’ll start off by saying that I liked this game. I liked it more than any other Hitman game. Which isn’t hard, as that count currently sits at zero. I never found the Hitman series’ gameplay intuitive. It never looked good. Agent 47 was blocky, and slow, and boring. Only thing he had going for him was the barcode on his head. Reminded me of Dark Angel…remember that show?

HitmanAbsolution

Absolution really revitalized the series for me. It looked a lot better, and played a lot better. The game also catered to my meticulous nature of trying to complete every objective or challenge on the same play through. The game is broken up into levels, and each level has a series of challenges you can complete, if you so choose, including: different ways to take out the main target, locating evidence, finding every weapon, disguising yourself with different costumes, being a perfect assassin, etc. I like to complete all these before I move onto the next level. So this bloats the play time, which I don’t mind, as the game was decently long already; 20 missions long.

Visually, the game was a step up on its predecessors, but then again, it should be, as the previous iteration came out 6 years ago. And the gameplay stepped it up a notch too. It just plays faster. Combat and stealth have evolved to what should be the norm, and you can setup slow motion shoot outs, allowing you to tag multiple enemies, á la Splinter Cell:Conviction.

The story is bloated and repetitive, as the missions are just a lineup of guys to take out, with a couple unique escape missions scattered through to break it up. But the game is all about HOW you take those guys out, and most of the time there’s multiple per level, and the levels get longer and tougher as the game progresses. The gameplay keeps you coming back as you can be as creative as the game allows you to be or you can be bullet happy.

Agent 47 had the audacity to cut his barcode off and stick a band-aid on it (not fooling anyone), but he’s back, and fresh.

-iRogan

iReview – DISHONORED – Silent Protagonism

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A breath of fresh air. Because when I sit down to play this game, the next thing I realize, I’ve been sitting on my couch the entire weekend, and should probably get up and go to work. Or something.

Dishonored_(Corvo)
This game is 2 parts Dues Ex, 1 part Bioshock. 2 for the game-play and freedom, stay for the art style. Its a grim stealthy assassination game, set in Victorian London, if it had been invaded by zombies on one front, and the Combine on the other.

I like stealth, and I like the stealth in this, but near, what I thought was the end, the game does a switchback, and lo, I’m only 3/4 done, and by this point, after 8 hours into today’s session, I have no more patience for stealth, and I want this game to end, with it’s head chopped off.

I ruin the pacing of games like these because I try to do all the paths available, at the same time, in the same play through. Saving and reloading until I get my desired outcome. But, 20 hours into my 1st – and only – play through, and the verdict is that this is a good game. Fantastic art style, memorable story, amazing game-play, and a silent protagonist.

And what a terrible inconvenience that silent protagonism turns out to be. You cant talk your way out of conversations, you just have to get all stabby stab-stab.

For those who like awesome games, Victorian London, and stabbing people.

Notable Achievements:
Wall of Sparks (You killed an enemy with the Wall of Light) – 10G
Cleaner (You fought 5 enemies at once and none of them survived) – 10G